


Ash Ketchum, I Choose You

by Snugglebuttkitten



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Origin Story, Pikachu's Past, Sort of AUish
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-31
Updated: 2019-01-31
Packaged: 2019-10-08 19:09:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17392013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snugglebuttkitten/pseuds/Snugglebuttkitten
Summary: Pikachu didn't always belong to Ash Ketchum, and he wasn't always with Professor Oak. In fact, Pikachu has a whole life before meeting Ash Ketchum. This is his story.





	1. The Clan

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing Pokemon fanfiction so please be gentle. My main fandom is Miraculous Ladybug, and I dabble in writing for the show 'Snow White with the Red Hair', and I might eventually start writing warrior fanfic again... but I've never really done anything but roleplay with Pokemon. If the story is well received, there is a chance I will start writing more Pokemon fanfics that are more Trainer based, as well as one other that is from a Pokemon's POV and has been in my head for literally years... but we will see how this one goes first.
> 
> If you are familiar with warrior cats, you might notice some similarities in how this group of Raichu/Pikachu/Pichu is run. For example, Mothers will be referred to as Queens and Pichu are Kits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An Overview of the characters you will meet during the first arc of the story

**The Clan**

**Alpha-** Talon; a massive male Raichu with a scar over one eye and a torn left ear

**Beta-** Flame; an average sized male Raichu and especially dark orange fur

**Subordinates-**

Rose; a quirky, energetic female Pikachu

Alder; an easy-going, friendly Pikachu

Tiny; an unusually small male Pikachu

Rowan; a relaxed, friendly male Raichu

Creek; a younger male Pikachu, rather immature and lazy

Aria; a female Pikachu known for her speed and agility

Aspen; a male Pikachu, tough and no-nonsense. Brother of Aria.

Brin; an arrogant, ambitious male Raichu

Brook; a hardworking, loyal female Raichu

Farley; a male Pikachu who trains most of the kits for the evolution ceremony

Fleur; a female Pikachu who trains most of the kits for the evolution ceremony

**Queens-**

Honey; a petite Pikachu with gentle eyes and a soft smile. (Mother of Clover; tiny female Pichu, and Birch; average sized male Pichu)

Berry; a pretty Pikachu with extra long fur on her head. (Mother of Basil; large male Pichu)

**Kits-**

Clover; a tiny female Pichu, hyper and energetic

Birch; an average sized male Pichu, cautious and kind

Basil; an unusually large male Pichu, cocky and a bit of a bully

Sweetbrier [Sweetie]; a gentle female Pichu, a few months older than the others

 

 

**How The Clan Works/Runs;**

The clan is designed to be an odd mix between Warrior Cats and a Wolf Pack. The Pack is run by an Alpha and his/her Beta. Typically, the Alpha is the strongest in the clan, usually fully evolved, and the Beta is his/or most trusted advisor and one of their strongest warriors. It is ultimately the Alpha's job to protect the Clan, alongside his Beta. While the subordinates are often trained to fight, it is ultimately the Alpha who makes sure everyone is safe and will stay back and keep any enemies at bay if the clan is forced to flee. After the Alpha and Beta, the clan is mostly made up of Pikachu and a few Raichu, called Subordinates. Subordinates are almost exclusively Pikachu, though a few favored members might be permitted to evolve fully. Those are the ones most likely in line to take over should anything happen to the Alpha and Beta. Subordinates are taught from a young age how to scavenge, gather food, and how to fight. As they make up the bulk of the clan, it is imperative that they have at least a basic idea of how to defend themselves. The Subordinates usually train young kits to be subordinates as a group, although occasionally there are one or two who are more invested in the training of younger members. In this case, Farley and Fleur are typically the ones who do most of the training. Following the Subordinates, you have your Queens and Kits. Queens are females who are pregnant or nursing young Kits. They are highly respected and cared for. Queens return to their normal dens with the other subordinates when their Kits are weaned, but Kits will remain in the Nursery until they become full Subordinates, usually when they finally evolve into Pikachu.

 

**Territory;**

The Clan lives in a forest within the Kanto Region that is actually pretty out of the way (non-canon compliant territory). Humans are very rarely sighted in the forest at all, let alone within the clan's territory, but if a human is spotted nearby, the Clan has measures in place to stay hidden until the threat leaves the area. The Clan's territory spans several miles of forested land with a river cutting directly through the middle of the territory. The river has stepping stones for easy crossing, but they still keep Kits as far from the water's edge as possible in hopes of limiting potential drownings. The forest is full of berries and other fruits and seeds that Subordinates gather and bring home for the Clan to share. The Clan's camp is called Safe Haven, a hollow surrounded by trees and thick brambles, with the main entrance in and out of the camp in the bramble wall, and several underground tunnels used to escape camp in an emergency. The dens are made of thick brambles and are set directly into the side of the camp wall. There's the Alpha's Den, the Beta's Den, three Subordinate Dens (as there can be quite a few subordinates at any given time) and the Nursery. The center of the camp is mostly hard packed dirt with a few springy tufts of grass here and there, a small nettle patch in one corner that most steer clear of and there is an old tree stump near the nursery that Kits often play on and around. At the center of the camp is a large rock, from which the Alpha and occasionally the Beta addresses the clan. Beyond Safe Haven is mostly heavy forests. To the south of the camp, there is a field where a lot of the Pikachu go to frolic and play during their downtime.

 

**Evolution;**

Pichu are considered Kits until the moment that they evolve into Pikachu, which means their Kit-status could last indefinitely, depending on the Pichu. Pichu often spends their kithood playing games that teach them hunting and fighting tactics, and spend their first few months stuck in the camp where its safe. when they're a couple months old, they begin leaving camp with Subordinates, who begin training them on how to fight properly and how to gather food. Pichu are rarely ever let out of camp alone because they're the most vulnerable evolution. In Canon, Pichu evolves into Pikachu after maxing happiness. We will keep the fact that they need to max their happiness but edit that a bit to fit the story more smoothly. Once Pichu maxes their happiness, they begin displaying signs of impending evolution (i.e. randomly glowing from time to time, growth pains, etc). At this point, the Pikachu will gather for an 'Evolution' Ceremony, which will be explained in the next segment. Most members of the clan never surpass their Pikachu and that's okay. Most of the time, it is only the Alpha and the Beta who reach their final evolution stage as a Raichu, although there are occasions in which a few of the best fighters in the Clan may be permitted to evolve fully. Most Raichu end up being male in the clan, because they're naturally the strongest and the ones who train harder. An evolution ceremony is held when a Pikachu is permitted to evolve into Raichu as well, but again more on that in the next section.

 

**Evolution Ceremony;**

Pichu --> Pikachu; The evolution ceremony for Pichu is actually quite simple. Normally, Pichu begin displaying impending evolutions at the same time as their siblings and/or denmates so you'll have a group ready to take on the evolution ceremony at one time. When this happens, the Alpha will call an evolution ceremony and the clan will gather in the 'training arena' a small hollow outside of the camp where most training takes place. Here, the young Pichu will be pitted against one another and each must battle until they've leveled up, at which point they will become Subordinates and full members of the Clan. This means that more skilled Pichu will only have one or two battles to win, while others might lose a battle and be forced to fight three or four times before they level up. Healing berries are always brought to these ceremonies to permit the Pichu to keep going even after suffering a defeat.

Pikachu --> Raichu; The evolution ceremony for Raichu is a bit different. First, an Alpha must choose who becomes a Raichu and usually it is a subordinate who displays extraordinary fighting prowess. When a Subordinate is chosen to undergo the final evolution, the Alpha and Beta take them to the base of the mountain which sits to the east of their territory. The caves there are full of evolution stones. The journey is used to test the Pikachu's skill, to prove them worthy of the transformation, so the Alpha and Beta only ever step in when confronted with an obstacle if the odds are stacked too greatly against the potential evolver, or if the potential evolver simply can't rise to the challenge. In the first case, they will be lenient. In the second, the Alpha will announce the test failed and they will return to camp. Upon reaching the caves, the Pikachu will be considered worthy and the Alpha will collect a stone for them before returning to camp. After that, it is just like the original ceremony. The Pikachu will choose willing opponents and fight until he levels up, at which point he is permitted to touch the stone and evolve. Raichu are insanely respected and admired among the Clan.


	2. Chapter 2

**Note from Author; For this AU, Pikachu has a name until he becomes Ash's. Mammal type Pokemon have live births, not eggs. This story is 100% from Pikachu's POV.**

 

“...irch.  _ Birch _ , wake up.”

Birch yawned, tiny pink tongue lolling as he stretched his tiny paws out in front of him and snuggled further into the pile of warm bodies around him. The milk-scented darkness that surrounded him was comforting, as was the distinct scent of his mother made him want to snuggle in and never wake up. Stretching further, the little creature felt himself drifting further into slumber when something nudged him sharply in the stomach, causing him to whine in protest.

“Birch, come  _ on _ . Mama says I can’t leave the den until you open your eyes,” the voice said persistently, nudging him again. Birch felt his brow furrow at that.  _ Open his eyes? _ He hadn’t done that yet. He liked the darkness. It was warm and safe and comforting. It was all he knew. Beside him, he felt his mother shift and immediately found himself burrowing into her stomach, chasing her warmth and the enticing scent of milk.

“Clover, that’s enough,” his mother admonished, and Birch felt a bit smug as he latched onto one of her teats, suckling contentedly. The taste of the sweet milk flooded his senses and he sucked faster, tiny paws kneading at his mother’s belly to make the milk flow faster. Nearby, he felt someone else shift, but he was barely paying attention.

“Don’t you find it odd he hasn’t opened his eyes yet, Honey? Basil opened his eyes almost right away.” Birch recognizes the voice as Berry, the other Queen in the Nursery. She is the mother of Basil, who is a few months older than Birch and his sister.

“He will open his eyes when he’s ready,” Honey responded stiffly, and Birch sighed contentedly around her teat as he felt his mother’s tail begin to stroke soothingly along his back and flank. Finished with his meal, he finally detached himself as Clover moved closer, her nose brushing along his cheek and ear.

“Come on, Birch! Don’t you want to see the world? It’s so bright and colorful!” She said enticingly, and Birch couldn’t help but be tempted. _What was bright?_ He wondered. _What was colorful?_ _What did he look like? More importantly, what did his mother look like? Did he look like her?_ For the first time, Birch found himself genuinely wanting to find out the answers to these questions. How big was the world? Surely it had to be bigger than the four, prickly walls that made up the nursery. His face muscles shifted, his eyes parting for the first time. Immediately, he closed them again against the glare of a particularly bright beam of light, shifting his face away and back into the shadows of the rest of the den. _Was that… sunlight? Its so bright! How did anyone walk around in it without going blind?_ Birch wondered. His mother had told him about the sun, a great orb of light in something called the sky.

After a moment, he tried to open his eyes again and this time found it much easier. Around him, the world came into view, blurry at first but slowly coming into focus the more he blinked. Aside from a few pockets of light shining through, the nursery was dark and gloomy, a dome of prickly branches created a protective shield overhead from the young Pokemon, their mothers, and the outside world.  Something soft, green, and spongy that Birch would later learn was called  _ moss _ covered the bottom of the den. Sitting up, the young Pichu blinked and came face to face with his sister, whose blue eyes widened in delight.

“You did it! You opened your eyes!” Clover squealed, causing the others in the den to shift their gazes towards the young male speculatively. Birch blinked, taking in his sister from the first time. Sitting as he was on all fours, he was a bit bigger than she was. Her fur was mostly yellow, with a spiky black fringe around her neck and black edging the large ears that seemed to dwarf her head with their size. Two small pink circles covered her cheeks and a tiny black tail stuck out behind her, waving madly in her excitement.

“I guess it was his time,” the soft voice of his mother spoke behind him, and Birch turned to blink up at her with wide eyes. He imagined he looked more like Clover than he looked like his mother if his glance down at his body was any indication. His mother was bigger and darker, her ears longer and narrower. Her tail was longer too, and she had brown stripes on her back. Only the tips of her ears were black, and rather than blue, her eyes were a warm brown. Birch blinked up at her and she smiled gently. “Hello, little one,” she leaned down and pressed her nose to his, and it was an automatic response to return the gesture by rubbing his face and nose against hers, across her cheek, and under her chin. Her fur was so soft and he would have been more than content to stay like that forever if his sister hadn’t chosen that moment to leap at him.

Birch yelped as she landed bodily on top of him, driving the breath from his lungs. Clover seemed unabashed, scrabbling over him and tugging playfully at the tip of his ear. “Come on, Birch. We can go outside now that your eyes are open! Right, Mama? Right?” Clover paused, teeth still tugging at her brother’s ear as she blinked hopefully up at their mother. Honey smiled indulgently and nodded, leaning forward to nudge the tiny female gently off of her brother.

“Yes, you may go outside,” she agreed gently.

“Yay!” Clover squealed, leaping back to her paws.

“ _ But _ ,” Honey added, catching Clover by the tail when she would have bolted straight out of the den. Clover deflated, turning to blink up at her mother as she fixed the two kits with a stern look. “You two are to stay together and don’t go too far, understand?”

“Yes, mama,” Clover groaned, squirming free with a huff.

“Yes, mama,” Birch echoed much more genuinely, touching his nose to his mother’s once more. Clover’s impatient growl had him reluctantly pulling back.

“Can we go now?” She asked, stubby black tail twitching impatiently. Honey hesitated for another moment before finally smiling and nodding gently. With a squeal, Clover nudged Birch towards the den entrance. Her excitement was infectious, and by the time they had scrambled across the mossy floor of the den, Birch shared in her eagerness. Sharing a look, the two pushed side by side through the narrow entrance, relishing in the delicious scrape of thorns against their spines, before they emerged into the brightness beyond.


	3. Chapter 3

Birch had to pause and blink rapidly against the bright sunlight as he left the comforting darkness of the nursery behind. Lifting a paw, he scrubbed at his face while beside him, Clover hunkered down and squinted against the shining orb that sat high in the sky. Of course, his mother had told him about the sun, but this was beyond even his wildest expectations. He hadn’t expected the warmth, for example. The golden glow that encompassed him warmed him from ear tip to tail tip, to the very roots of his fur, and brought about an unexpected feeling of contentedness and happiness within him. Eventually, his eyes adjusted and for the first time, Birch looked upon the world beyond the prickly walls of the nursery. He frowned.

The world was smaller than he expected. In fact, it reminded him a lot of the nursery, albeit a lot brighter and more colorful and without the warm scent of his mother’s milk to cloud his senses. Allowing his gaze to drift around curiously, he took in all he could, regardless of his mild disappointment. The camp, Safe Haven as he had heard his mother and Berry refer to it, was comprised of several tall, sturdy trees that sat in a circle, their branches interlocking high above the ground. Between the trees, an impenetrable wall of brambles surrounded the camp, protecting them from any who might think to try and attack them. There were Pikachu everywhere. Milling around on the ground, in the treetops, and he was sure he saw a few between the prickly branches of the other dens. They looked like his mother, Birch noted quietly. Yellow fur, brown stripes, red electric pouches on their cheeks, long ears with black tips.

“Woah,” Clover breathed out beside him, finally straightening from her crouched position to look around with an awestruck gaze. Her body was a warm press against his side. 

“I didn’t know there would be so many others,” Birch admitted.

“They all look like mama,” Clover added in agreement.

“That’s because they’re all Pikachu, Beedrill-brain,” a new voice announced from nearby. Clover and Birch turned, coming face to face with their two denmates. The only other two kits currently in the clan, Basil was a few months older than the pair, and Sweetbrier was a few months older than  _ him _ . She was behind in her training, her siblings already having moved on, because she was sick when she was younger. Basil was the one who had spoken, his face full of contempt.

“What’s a Pikachu?” Clover asked.

“What’s a Beedrill-brain?” Birch added. Basil snorted contemptuously and shook his head in disgust, while the two younger kits looked on in confusion.

“Don’t you two pipsqueaks know  _ anything _ ?” Basil sneered. Beside him, Sweetbrier frowned and nudged him sharply.

“I seem to recall you being just as lost and confused when  _ you _ first left the den. Cut them some slack, Basil,” she scolded, before turning to the younger two Pichu and smiling kindly.

“It’s nice to see your eyes finally open, Birch,” she said gently, padding closer to press her nose to first Birch’s, then Clover’s. Birch didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt warm all over when her nose brushed gently against hers, and his ears seemed to positively burn. “A Pikachu is what we evolve into. We’re Pichu; our next evolution is Pikachu, and then Raichu,” she explained kindly. Beside her, Basil huffed and rolled his eyes dramatically.

“So Mama is a Pikachu?” Clover asked curiously, eyes widening with interest. Stepping back, Sweetbrier nodded encouragingly.

“That’s right,” she agreed.

“What’s a Beedrill-brain? Birch echoed his earlier question and prompted the female to shoot another disapproving look at the older male.

“Nothing you need to worry about. Basil was just being mean,” she said. “You seem a lot smarter than a Beedrill,” she assured. Birch was still confused and he still didn’t know what a Beedrill  _ was _ but he knew that Sweetbrier’s kind words made the warm feeling return tenfold and knew he wanted to experience more of the odd feeling if possible. Someone must have heard his prayers, because in the next moment the female Pichu was offering to show them around Safe Haven. Clover and Birch readily agreed. They were still a bit overwhelmed by all the new sights and sounds flooding their senses, but they knew they weren’t quite ready to head back to the den yet.

  
  
  


Sweetbrier showed them all around the camp. She showed them the three dens where the Subordinates slept and explained how, after their evolution ceremony, they would all move into one of the Subordinate Dens. Then, she explained what an evolution ceremony was. She showed them where they could mate dirt and pointed out the Alpha and Beta’s dens, explaining that they were out on patrol and promising he would meet them later. She showed them the food pile, full of berries and roots and nuts that had been gathered from the forest. Birch wasn’t much interested in eating solid food yet, preferring his mother’s sweet milk, but Clover took a pink berry from the pile when offered and devoured it in small, quick bites with a hum of delight. When she was finished, she swiped her tiny pink tongue around her jaw and beamed.

“That was so good!” She said. Sweetbrier smiled in amusement.

“That’s called a Pecha Berry. They’re my favorite,” she explained.

“Mine too,” Clover breathed with a dreamy smile. Giggling softly, Sweetbrier beckoned for them to follow her as she continued the tour, eventually concluding the  tour by nodding towards the nettle patch and warning them to steer clear unless they wanted to end up covered in prickly burrs. Basil, who had grudgingly accompanied them on the tour, made a big show of rolling his eyes as he sidled up beside them.

“Great, are we done, here?” He asked impatiently, nodding towards the camp entrance. Sweetbrier had explained during the tour that the camp was only part of the world, and that a whole world lay beyond Safe Haven, much to Birch’s relief. “Fleur and Farley are waiting for us.”

“Who are Fleur and Farley?” Clover asked, looking curiously to the two pikachu.

“They’re two of the subordinates. They’re training us for our future evolution ceremony. You’ll work with them too, when you’re a bit older,” Sweetbrier explained.

“They’re taking you out of Safe Haven?” Birch asked, awed. Basil smirked smugly and answered him.

“Yeah, cause we aren’t babies like you two,” he sneered.

“Hey! We aren’t babies!” Clover protested, yellow fur puffing out indignantly. Basil looked unaffected by her anger.

“Whatever,” he said, turning away with a twitch of his tail. “Come on, Sweetbrier! We’ve kept them waiting long enough,” he called, c]bounding away without so much as a goodbye. Clover scowled after him.

“I really do have to go,” Sweetbrier apologized, “but I’ll see you later!”

With that, the older Pichu bounded off to join Basil and the two Pikachu. Clover and Birch watched as they touched noses with the older Pokemon before all four departed the camp, and a feeling of envy washed over them. Silently, Birch vowed that one day soon, he would get to leave camp at Sweetbrier’s side, too.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think! Comment, comment, comment. Your feedback gives me life.


End file.
